Iowa City landlord ordered to pay $5.6 million in worker's death

A jury has ordered a prominent Iowa City landlord to pay $5.6 million to the widow of a maintenance worker who fell to his death. (MGN Online)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (CBS2/FOX28) —

A jury has ordered a prominent Iowa City landlord to pay $5.6 million to the widow of a maintenance worker who fell to his death.

The Johnson County jury returned the verdict late Monday against Jeffrey Clark, the manager of Apartments Downtown, Inc.

The case stems from the 2014 death of 40-year-old husband and father Bronson Ganka, a handyman for the apartments company.

Ganka fell from a ladder while trying to drill a hole above an awning to a downtown Iowa City business. He suffered serious injuries after landing on the sidewalk, went into a coma and died 11 days later.

Ganka's widow, Kara, alleged that Clark was grossly negligent because he told Ganka he couldn't use an available boom truck that had safety guardrails to perform the work.